Tricks help deer hunters overcome baiting ban

Bowhunters who plan to honor the state's ban on baiting in the Lower Peninsula shouldn't despair -- there are still ways to get deer broadside and within shooting range without using bait.

The Department of Natural Resources has banned all baiting in southern Michigan because of the discovery of a deer that died at a Kent County game farm from chronic wasting disease, an infectious disease that has killed deer in several states. Michigan's bow season opened Wednesday and runs through the end of the year.

Biologists claim the infection can be spread from deer feeding together in small areas, and that the disease can even persist in the soil for a considerable time after stricken deer drop infected salvia or feces on the ground.

The new regulation has led to widespread protests by hunters, who charge the DNR with overreacting, and a lawsuit has already been filed against the DNR challenging the bait ban.

DNR officials claim they intend to strictly enforce the new regulation and promise stiff fines and sanctions for those who violate the ban. They say chronic wasting disease is a serious threat to Michigan's deer herd.

Michigan bowhunters had traditional ways to getting deer within shooting range long before the state started allowing bait about 25 years ago. Those old-fashioned methods can still be used successfully by those willing to give the benefit of the doubt to the DNR.

Don Koon, a veteran local bowhunter and Colorado elk hunting guide, has been an advocate for using mock scrapes for years. He has killed many good-sized bucks in several states and Canada with both a bow and a rifle.

Koon, who lives in Atlas Township and works in Flint, said hunters need to forget about using permanent tree stands and prepare to go mobile this fall because those who don't use bait will not be attracting deer like before.

He said hunters should have already been familiar with the feeding patterns of the deer they intend to hunt this fall and should be setting up their portable stands or blinds near the fields most favored for feeding.

Now, for instance, Koon said, deer are hitting soybean fields heavily, and a wise hunter will seek permission to hunt those fields. Later in the season, cornfields and alfalfa fields will be the target of feeding deer when the soybeans are harvested.

Wise hunters will be looking for travel corridors between bedding and such feeding areas, which will become critical when the deer rut starts in early November, Koon said. Hunters should be looking for scrapes and rubs that will indicate the presence of big bucks, he said.

Come November, bowhunters should be prepared to make as many as a dozen mock scrapes in their hunting areas, near such trail systems and in areas where they can position their treestands or blinds in the most favorable situations.

Koon said he likes to use a small rake to create mock scrapes about 36-48 inches in diameter. He starts by raking off the leaves and ground cover and then loosening the soil with his rake, which he leaves in the woods.

He then uses a commercial doe scent to activate the scrape, being sure to check all of his mock scrapes daily for tracks in the fresh dirt that indicate a big buck is checking the scrape himself.

"If I find big fresh tracks during my midday checks, I make plans to hunt that scrape later that afternoon or for sure the next morning," he said.

The scrape should be at least 25 yards from the stand or blind, running left to right in front of the hunter's position, Koon said, with an eye toward having the prevailing wind in the hunter's face. Such an alignment will increase the chance the buck will be standing broadside when he pauses to check the scrape, he said.

If a buck approaches the scrape but doesn't appear to be slowing down, Koon said a good mouth call will frequently stop the deer for a few seconds to allow a shot.

Yelling or whistling is not a good idea, he said, even though some people have gotten away with that tactic. It doesn't work nearly as often as a good call, he said.